Originally Posted by ddimick

Thought I'd share my experience. I started cycling last year on a Specialized Sirrus, which is a great bike that I've enjoyed very much. It's more or less a flat bar road bike. I've put about 2,000 miles on it. As I got into the sport I found I liked the idea of endurance events. My first metric century was this past May. The last 20 miles were into a ~10mph wind, and it was tough. I decided then and there to start shopping for a road bike.

I've had a Look 566 relaxed geo road bike for about three weeks now. I completed my first imperial century last weekend. Here are my observations:

Road pro:
Requires less energy to go the same speed. You're more aero, and that makes a big difference as the miles stack up. My friend also completed the same century on his Sirrus and was unable to keep up with the pace. We started cycling at the same time with the same bike, except his has more carbon and nicer wheels than mine. We ride together four or five times a week, so our ability and training is more or less identical. He's shopping for a road bike now although, like me, he still loves his Sirrus.

Multiple hand positions with the drop bars meant my hands never got numb, even after 100 miles. Even with the extra positions offered by Ergon GC3s I would start having hand numbness on the hybrid after about 40 miles.

Road con:
The more aggressive position on even a relaxed-geo road bike is not a small change. There's a price you pay to get out of the wind. Muscles in my triceps and especially neck were sore. It took a day or two before I could turn my head normally. When I finished the century my upper body was done, but me legs could have gone on.

I'm looking forward to a 540-mile 7-day ride next June on my new road bike.